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J. H. GILES. Hotel Anhunoiator.

No. 233,087. Patented Oct. 12,1880.

7dii/'msigdgj/ w My N. PETERS. FHOTO-LITHQGRAPHEH. WASHINGTON u c UNITED STATES Parana @rrice.

JAMES H. GILES, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

HOTEL-ANNUNCIATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 233,087, dated October 12, 1880.

Application filed January 28, 1850.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, JAMES H. Guns, of New York city, county of New York, and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Hotel-Annunciator, of. which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improved device for connecting hotel-rooms and other places from which signals and calls are made with the central or main annunciator and with separate indicators; and the object of the invention is to enable the signals and calls to be simultaneously announced by the central annunciator and to servants and others in the hall adjoining the room from which the signal or call proceeds.

The usual arrangement of annunciators for hotels, dwellings, or other buildings is to place in the office or kitchen the annunciator containing the bell and the several indicators, which are lettered or numbered to correspond with the letters or numbers on the several rooms. This arrangement requires separate wires to be conducted to the respective rooms from each indicator.

As an adjunct to the main annunciator as usually constructed, without its usual array of office-indicators, my improvement consists in placing an instrument in each of the several rooms, which instrument, passing through the partition, carries an indicator or tell-tale on the hall side and a crank bell handle or lever. to be operated from the inside of room, the wires being so arranged and attached that the lever or crank will close the circuit or otherwise cause an alarm to be sounded at the office or kitchen, and at the same time, by its mechanical action, will move the indicator on the hall side of the partition to show the particular place from which the call emanates. The advantages of this double announcement, by simultaneously operating on the indicator in the hall, ringing the bell, or otherwise affecting the central annunciator, are that it will be a means of correcting the vexatious mistakes oftentimes made by forgetfulness on the part of servants or hotel-clerks. It places the callbells underthe supervision of the housekeeper, (in hotels,) and when desirable the calls can be answered by the chamber-maids while working in the halls.

My instrument, if made so that the lever operates by the usual electro-magnet and armature,( used in all annunciators,) mayform one number or letter of acentral or main annunciator; but, as an indicator and circuit-closer, it can be used as an appendage to any known annunciator.

Another and important advantage in placin g the combined circuit-closer and indicator on the several rooms is, that one pair of wires with branches to several rooms operating on one bell of a series in the central annunciator can be used instead of separate sets of wires for each individual room, as usually constructed, thus effecting great economy in the construe tion, as well as being more convenient. For instance, a hotel containing one hundred rooms can be operated by a ten-number annunciator instead of one hundred, usually required. Any number of rooms can be connected in this manner, but generally I recommend not more than from four to six 011 one set of wires. In dwellings, where the rooms are adjacent the central halls, one set of wires will serve for each story, so that if the hall is announced in. the office the hallboy or servant, by entering that hall, will perceive from the position of the indicators the room from which the call proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a face view of the outside or hall end of my device. Fig. 2 represents a vertical cross-section of the wall of a room and a longitudinal section of my device passed through the said wall. Fi 3 represents a face view of the inside or room end of my device. Fig. 4 represents a crosssection of my devicc,taken on line w w of Fig. 2; and Fig. 5 represents a cross-section of the same, taken on line y y of the same figure.

Referring to the drawings, A A represent the wall of a room, and B the floor. c a are the main wires of an electric circuit leading to the central or main annunciator, and b b are branch wires, which are intended to connect the main wires to a with the indicator levers or keys in the various rooms.

C is a cylindrical or tubular case, which is passed through the wall A A, so that one end, cl, is within the room and the opposite end, (1, is outside of the room and visible from the hallway. i

D represents a suitable lever, which is pivoted or fulcrumed in the case 0, so that one end, 0, projects through or is near the end at of the tube, to be easily operated from the inside of the room, while the opposite end, 0, of the said lever is held down bya spring, f, or suitable weight. As a ready means of inserting-the lever in the case 0, I provide a plug, g, which will fit easily but closely in the case. Through a slot in this plug the lever is passed, and the lever and plug are connected together by the pivot on which the lever turns. One end of the spring f is fastened to the lever, while its other end is within the slot in the plug g and bears against the plug, as shown in Fig.2, or against the tube. The lever, spring, and plug are thus connected together, and the spring andlever being independent of the case 0, they can be taken out and put back in the tube without trouble. The plug g is held, when inserted in the tube, by a screw, it, passed up against it through the tube or case.

An annular face-plate, 1', surrounds or covers, in part, the outer end, (1, of the tube 0, and to this faceplate is pivoted the indicatorplate E, which is adapted to turn from a vertical position, in which it closes the slot through the face-plate t and the end of the case 0, to a horizontal or inclined position, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2, in which position the slot in the plate and the end of the tube or case are exposed. From the back of plate E projects an arm, j, which may be connected with the free edge of the plate E by a segmental piece, I. When the plate E is in a vertical position the arm j lies on the depressed end 0 of the lever D, but by throwing 0r forcing this end of the lever up it raises the arm j and turns the plate on its pivot, and thereby throws the said plate to a horizontal or inclined position. The movement of the lever to produce this effect, and the position of the plate E after the movement is made, are indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2. The plate E constitutes the ball or indicator, which shows, by its position, to one outside of the room to which the device is attached that a signal or call has been made from such room.

When the lever D is operated so as to throw the plate E down itis an indication or announcement to any one in the hall or within sight that a signal or call has been made from the room within. After the lever is released from pressure the spring f throws its end 0 down, but the ball or indicator E remains in the position to which it was moved by the lever. As soon as the signal is attended to it is necessary that the indicator should be turned back to a vertical position, so as to be ready for anothersignal. For this purpose a pusher-rod, m, is provided, which is incased in a tube or sleeve, 'n, which is passed up through the rim F of the face-plate i. The rod m is prevented from slipping from the sleeve 12 by enlarging its upper end, or in any other suitable manner. When the indicator E is thrown down it rests on the end of the rod m, as shown in Fig. 2. As soon as the attendant has answered the call or signal he pushes the rod m up, and thereby resets the indicator to its normal position with the arm. j on the lever D.

The indicator is protected from dust and injury by a bulging face-plate of glass, 0, which may be convex, as shown, or of any other suitable shape, and which is set in the rim F, so as to permit the indicator, when dropped, to be seen from the side.

G is a circuit-closer, made of metal or provided with a suitable conducting-surface. A suitable spring, r, holds this circuitcloser within the tube 0 normallyin the inclined position shown in Fig.2, but allows it to be turned down into metallic contact with the branch wires I) b to form a connection between the terminals of the two wires 1) b and establish an electric circuit. The position of the circuit-closer is such that when the lever is pressed down it forces the circuit-closer down in contact with the wires b at the same time that the lever drops the indicator E. Thus an electric circuit is established, and the signal or call is communicated to the central or main annunciator, showing that a call emanates from a certain hall or part of the buildin g. An attendant visiting such hall or part of the building in obedience to the call will readily, by the position of the indicator, find the particular room in which his service is required.

Over the inner end, (I, of the tube or case 0 can be placed a cap, H, with a slot for the end of the lever to project through, and said cap may be made of wood,' metal, or any other suitable material.

Instead of connecting the lever through a circuit-closer with an electric annunciator, it may be connected with a bell or any other main or central announcing device by other than electric means. i

The essential feature of my invention consists in the arrangement whereby an announcement of a signal or call is made at the office, kitchen, or other desired central point, and simultaneously therewith, the indicator attached to my device being thrown down, the servants or attendants whose duty it is to be in the hall or other place from which the indicator may be seen can tell instantly the room from which the call proceeds.

The advantages of this double announcement, by the motion of the indicator and the simultaneous announcement in the office or other central point where the main annunciator is situated, are these: A means is furnished for avoiding mistakes that frequently occur, owing to forgett'ulness of the attendant or of the clerk. It the attendant finds that he has mistaken or forgotten the number of the room from which the call proceeds, he is, with the ordinary apparatus, obliged to return to the office. With my invention he can readily ascertain the number by examining the indicators, and the call remains duly announced until the indicator has been pushed back by the attendant.

A smaller annunciator can be employed by connecting all the rooms in a certain section or hall with one number of the annunciator, instead of connecting each room with its own distinct central indicator. The arrangement also permits the call-bells to be under the supervision of the housekeeper, (in hotels,) and when desirable the calls can be answered by the chamber-maids who have charge of the halls.

I claim- 1. The lever D,combined with the annunciator wire or wires, and with an indicator, E, which is on the outside of the partition or wall, that carries the lever for simultaneous action upon annunciator and indicator, substantially as described.

2. The lever D, combined with the annunciator-wires a b, the indicator E, and circuitcloser G, substantially as described.

3. The lever D, having handle 6, and combined with the movable indicator E, so as to control the position of said indicator by direct contact therewith in one of its movements, but not in the return movement, substantially as herein shown and described.

4.. The plug 9, in combination with the lever D, spring f, and tubular case 0, substantially as described.

5. The tubular case 0. arranged to be placed through the wall or partitions A A, in combination with the lever D and indicator E, so arranged that the lever D and indicator can be operated from the inside and the indicator can be seen from the outside, substantially as described.

6. A hotel-indicator consisting of a lever, D, said lever having handle 0, and of an indicator, E, for operation by direct contact in a wall or partition, the handle being at one side and the indicator at the othersideof such wall, substantially as described.

7. The combination of the case or shell 0 with the drop-indicator E, projecting when falling down beyond the margin F of the case, and with the bulging glass face 0, which is attached to the case 0, and contains the indicator and permits its inspection from the side of the glass, substantially as herein shown and described.

JAMES H. GILES.

Witnesses:

W. 0. Down ToMPsoN B. Mosnnn. 

